With all the talk recently of Ricardo Mayorga, James Toney, and now B.J. Flores, some people have lost attention to one of the sport's first real two-way stars. On Monday morning, former Elite XC lightweight champion K.J. Noons will be making his return to mixed martial arts when he takes on Andre "Dida" Amade at Dream 13 from Japan.

Noons has had a successful career splitting time between the worlds of professional boxing and MMA. The Kailua-Kona, Hawaii native has a professional boxing record of 11-2 and is 7-2 in MMA. Although Noons has never fought in the three largest organizations in the sport, his record matches up with many of the elites at lightweight anywhere in the sport. He has wins over Yves Edwards, Edson Berto, and current Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz.

Noons signed with Strikeforce this past December and hopes to challenge the winner of the upcoming lightweight title bout against Champion Gilbert Melendez and Shinya Aoki. But he must get past Amade in his Dream bout before that can become a reality. Noons recently sat down with MMA Spot to talk about how he manages both careers, his fight with Amade, and his rivalry with Nick Diaz.
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Yount: What do you expect out of Andre “Dida” Amade in your upcoming bout?
Noons: A very good, exciting match.

Yount: You are fighting Andre “Dida” Amade in Dream in this week. Is this because Strikeforce was unable to get you a fight stateside, or was this your choice?
Noons: They offered me the fight and I said 'yes'.

Yount: Do you think you may experience some rust, after nearly two years away from the cage, coming into this fight?
Noons: No, I had four or five fights boxing last year. No ring rust. I feel good for this fight.

Yount: Is boxing still on the table, or are you going to be focused on MMA from here on out?
Noons: Focusing on MMA right now, but boxing is not out of the picture in the future.

Yount: Before signing with Strikeforce did you have discussions with other organizations? How close were those negotiations?
Noons: Some, but in the end, having already fought for Showtime, and how easy going Scott is, it was an easy choice.
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Yount: Even with wins over Edson Berto, Nick Diaz, and Yves Edwards do you feel like you have to prove yourself to MMA fans and promoters that you are a legitimate contender?
Noons: No! I was a champ and defended it. I have almost 40 pro fights between boxing, kickboxing, and MMA. When I fight, I am prepared and want to put on the best show for the fight fans.

Yount: Are you still interested in a rematch with Diaz?
Noons: Yes, [we will] probably fight down the road.

Yount: How do you feel about Nick Diaz's recent comments about you? ("Who the **** is KJ Noons? He doesn't even fight any more, why would I still care about him?”)
Noons: I would have to say look in the mirror. I'm the guy that gave you all those scars on your face.

Yount: A lot of hardcore MMA fans have reacted negatively towards you for not defending the belt against Nick Diaz. Do you have any feelings or thoughts on this? What happened there?
Noons: It was because of Elite XC's bad business dealing and the way they did things.

For the rest of the interview CLICK HERE (http://www.mmaspot.net/index.php/redblack/comments/20100321_on_the_spot_k.j._noons/)

Tyburn

03-22-2010, 09:27 PM

I think KJ Noons is good friends with Joe Duarte because I keep hearing the Joe Duarte has gone out to Japan for dream...but its not to fight...and he mentioned KJ Noons...